Sermon/“God, who at sundry times ...”
St. Helena, California
September 28, 1901
Portions of this manuscript are published in 1MCP 128; 2MCP 539; MM 115-117; 4BC 1171; 5BC 1095, 1135. +NoteOne or more typed copies of this document contain additional Ellen White handwritten interlineations which may be viewed at the main office of the Ellen G. White Estate.
Sermon, Mrs. E. G. White, Sanitarium Chapel.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” [Hebrews 1:1, 2.] To Jesus Christ was given the work of making for man a home—the world in which we are being tested and tried. Those who acknowledge their loyalty to God are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” [Romans 8:17.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 1
“Who (Christ) being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” [Hebrews 1:3.] The power of God is upholding all things, and keeping in check the powers of darkness, that man may have opportunity to form a character after the divine similitude. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 2
Could man have been saved in sin, there would have been no necessity for Christ to make His sacrifice in our behalf. But no one can be saved in sin. The pitiable condition of man after the fall led Christ to give His own life to redeem the fallen race. And what a life of humiliation and suffering was His! He did not come to this world in His glory, heralded by the heavenly angels. That He might stand at the head of humanity, He laid aside His kingly crown and royal robe, clothing His divinity with humanity. Taking upon Himself our nature, with His long human arm He encircled humanity, while with His divine arm He grasped the throne of the Infinite. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 3
That none could accuse Christ of knowing nothing about poverty, God appointed that the Saviour should be born of humble parentage. He did not take His place with the great or wealthy men of the world, but made Himself of no reputation. What a change from His exalted position in the heavenly courts! 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 4
To His Son the Father has committed all judgment. To prepare Himself to be the Judge of all the world, Christ endured the hardships and trials of mankind, suffering in all points like as we suffer, thus familiarizing Himself with the power of Satan’s temptations. The enemy beset Him on every point, but He was victorious over the powers of darkness. If He had failed in a single instance, there would be no salvation for us. But He has fought the battle for us, overcoming in our behalf. He rebuked those possessed of devils, and the evil spirits acknowledged His name, asking Him if He had come to torment them before the time. What a wonderful salvation has been worked out for us! 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 5
To every sinner with whom we come in contact, we are to tell the infinite pains heaven has taken to bring us into right relation to God. We are to show that we are amenable to One higher than any human being; that we must render to God an account for the deeds done in the body; that notwithstanding His infinite love for us, He cannot take a sinner <in his sins> to heaven. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 6
Of the glory of Him who stood in the world as our Saviour, it is said, “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” [Verse 4.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 7
The Roman guard fell as dead men before the glory of one angel who came to roll back the stone from the tomb of Christ. The soldiers could not endure the heavenly light which pierced the surrounding darkness. Hurrying into the city, they published the story concerning the glory which had struck them as dead men, as the angel whose “countenance was like lightning, and his raiment as snow” rolled away the stone from the sealed sepulcher. [Matthew 28:2, 3.] But the priests soon hushed up the story, fearing that in rage the people would kill them. They counseled the soldiers, “saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.” [Verse 13.] This false report was circulated to conceal the power of God which should have been revealed to the people. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 8
If strong men could not endure the presence of that one glorious angel, how much less could Christ’s glory have been endured! In order to make it possible for men to behold Him, His divinity was veiled. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 9
“For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” [Hebrews 1:5.] What a precious promise is held out before us! Does any one feel inclined to sneer or mock at these words? May God give everyone power to grasp eternal realities. Purify the mind from the sin and the allurements of this world, that you may not lose sight of eternity. Close the windows earthward, open them heavenward, and let in the glory of God which is shining across the heavenly threshold. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 10
As God “bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” [Verse 6.] Shall we not worship Him who first loved us, making Him the center of attraction? “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” [Verses 7-14.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 11
Christ sees men so absorbed in worldly cares and business perplexities that they have no time to become acquainted with Him. To them heaven is a strange place, for they have lost it out of their reckoning. Not familiar with heavenly things, they tire of hearing about them. They dislike to have their minds disturbed concerning their need of salvation, preferring to engage in amusements. But the Lord wants to disturb their minds, that they may be led to take hold of eternal realities. He is in earnest with them. Very, very soon they will all know Him, whether they desire to or not. The angel of mercy is now folding his wings and stepping down from the throne. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 12
The Lord is coming. If He were revealed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, would you be ready to meet Him? Have you made your peace with Him? Would you like to be sent away from God’s presence to share in the humiliation and punishment of Satan and his angels? But if during your lifetime you rob God of the service which He has purchased with His own blood, spending all your time in foolish words and amusements, you will finally lose heaven. How can you afford to barter away for worldly pleasure the gift of eternal life? God’s arms are open to take you to Himself. He invites you to come to Him. Choose life, eternal life. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 13
To eclipse the beauty and the loveliness of the Prince of Light, upon whom the mind should ever be dwelling, Satan seeks to engross the mind with exciting games, horse races, and worldly pleasures. He endeavors to so occupy the attention with trivialities that no time will be taken to think of Jesus. Even after the most solemn discourses, the enemy will, if possible, destroy the impressions made by the Holy Spirit. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 14
Accurately recorded in the books of heaven are the sneers and trivial remarks made by sinners who pay no heed to the call of mercy when Christ is represented to them by a servant of God. As the artist takes on the polished glass a true picture of the human face, so God daily places upon the books of heaven an exact representation of the character of every individual. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 15
Those who are saved must travel the same road over which Christ journeyed. He says, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” [Mark 8:34.] The character is to be formed according to the Christ-likeness. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 16
In the Word the Saviour is revealed in all His beauty and loveliness. Every soul will find comfort and consolation in the Bible, which is full of promises concerning what God will do for the one who comes into right relation to Him. Especially will the sick be comforted by hearing the Word; for in giving the Scriptures God has given to mankind a leaf from the tree of life, which is for the healing of the nations. How can any one who reads the Scriptures, or who has heard them read, lose his interest in heavenly things and find pleasure in amusements and enchantments of the world? 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 17
Our object in establishing sanitariums is to encourage the sick and suffering to look to God and live. Those who are afflicted should be pointed to the Man of Calvary, who taketh away the sin of the world. By beholding Him they will be changed into His image. Let the physicians in every institution keep Christ before those to whom disease of body and soul have brought discouragement. Point them to the One who can heal both physical and spiritual diseases. Tell them of the Great Physician who is touched with the feelings of their infirmities. Encourage them to place themselves in the care of Him who gave His life to make it possible for them to have life eternal. Keep their minds fixed upon the One altogether lovely, the chiefest among ten thousand. Talk of His love; tell of His power to save. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 18
We need to put our trust in a sin-pardoning Saviour. In the days of Christ a poor paralytic was told by the priests and rulers, “Your sins have brought your affliction upon you. You can never be healed.” They left him to die. But he had heard of Jesus. Someone told him that he could be taken where Christ was. On an improvised litter he was carried to the house where the Saviour was speaking to the people. But so great was the crowd by which Christ was surrounded that it was impossible for the man to get near Him. Realizing the danger of losing the last chance for recovery, the paralytic said to his attendants, “Take me to the roof, and let me down.” So “they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.” And the first words of the Saviour to the one suddenly let down before Him were, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” [Mark 2:4, 5.] Today sin is hindering the recovery of hundreds. If the peace of God were in their hearts, their sickness would be regarded as of much less consequence. Peace of mind prepares the way for the faith that Christ will do as He has promised to do. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 19
“But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” [Verses 6-12.] The faultfinders excepted, all praised God for the wonderful works they had seen. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 20
When Christ was on His way to heal the daughter of Jairus, a woman who had suffered for many, many years wanted to speak to Him. The multitude was so great that she could not present herself before Him, but she was able to reach out and barely touch the hem of His garment. Immediately she was made whole. There was no healing power in the garment. It was faith in the Person who wore the garment, which restored her to health. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 21
The Great Physician recognized the touch of faith. “Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.” [Mark 5:30-32.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 22
Then the woman, afraid that she had taken something she ought not to have, came before Him and with fear and trembling told her pitiful story—how she had been under the care of many physicians, but had not been benefited by them, being made rather the worse by their treatment and drugs. All her living had been spent in paying their charges. “But now,” she said, “I am made whole.” The Saviour said to her, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.” [Verse 34.] Blessing her, He bade her go in peace. By this object lesson of His healing power He taught the multitude pressing about Him that He was the Mighty One, the Restorer. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 23
I exhort all those who are connected with the St. Helena Sanitarium to present Christ in all His loveliness to the patients in this institution as the Great Physician, the Mighty Healer, the One who can heal both soul and body, taking away both sin and disease. In His work of healing, Christ desires the co-operation of every helper in the Sanitarium. He has a right to expect help from you. You are His purchased possession. You are bought with a price—and what a price! For your salvation He sacrificed His own life. You are to be bearers of the precious light which heaven has given to mankind. Christ says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [Matthew 5:16.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 24
You should be in earnest, helping all who can be helped to seek God with the whole heart, that they may find Him, and take their stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Co-operate with the ministering angels who are watching for opportunities to work through your helping hand. Set forth the truth as it is in Jesus. Tell these poor, perishing ones, sick in body and mind, to rest on the bosom of Jesus Christ. Present before them the cleansing Fountain which has been opened for Judah and Jerusalem. Teach them to eat the bread of life. Christ says, “I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” [John 6:51.] In reading and studying the Word of God, we are eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. He says, “The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” [Verse 63.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 25
We should walk circumspectly before God and before the world, ever keeping our minds fixed on Christ. “Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him (the joy of seeing sinners converted) endured the cross, despising the (thought of) shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” [Hebrews 10:1-3.] 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 26
These are not my words. I am reading the words of the living God. If you choose to insult Him by laughing and sneering at His words, remember that by so doing you will finally be brought to open shame. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 27
Christ, the Mighty Healer, is to be exalted—and not any human physician. Physicians, Jesus will hear your prayers. Nurses, if you have a living connection with God, you can in confidence present the sick before Him. He will comfort and bless the suffering ones, molding and fashioning the mind, inspiring it with faith and hope and courage. The Christ-life, the Christ-grace, is the only power that can safely be brought to bear upon the human mind. Every other influence is to be taken away. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 28
No individual should be permitted to take control of another person’s mind, thinking that in so doing he is causing him to receive great benefit. The mind-cure is one of the most dangerous deceptions which can be practiced upon any individual. Temporary relief may be felt, but the mind of the one thus controlled is never again so strong and reliable. We may be as weak as was the woman who touched the hem of Christ’s garment; but if we use our God-given opportunity to come to Him in faith, He will respond as quickly as He did to that touch of faith. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 29
It is not God’s design for any human being to yield his mind to another human being. The risen Christ, who is now set down on the throne at the right hand of the Father, is the Mighty Healer. Look to Him for healing power. Through Him alone can sinners come to God just as they are. Never can they come through any man’s mind. The human agent must never interpose between the heavenly agencies and those who are suffering. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 30
Everyone should be in a position to co-operate with God in directing the minds of others to Him. Tell them of the grace and power of Him who is the greatest Physician the world ever knew. He came to the world to restore in man the moral image of God. Seeing that Satan was exercising a controlling influence over the minds of men and women in order to further his evil designs, Christ came to combat the powers of darkness, to break the control which Satan had gained over human minds. Make the Saviour the center of attraction. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 31
A minister once said that “he could but think that Christ must have known something about science.” Of what could this minister have been thinking? Science!—Christ could have opened door after door of science. He could have revealed to men treasures of science on which they might have feasted to the present time. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 32
But knowing that this knowledge would have been appropriated to unholy uses, He did not open the door. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 33
We do not ask you to place yourself under the control of any man’s mind. The mind-cure is the most awful science which has ever been advocated. Every wicked being can use it in carrying through his own evil designs. We have no business with any such science. We should be afraid of it. Never should the first principles of it be brought into any institution. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 34
Christ can do nothing for those who are yoked up with the enemy. His invitation to us is, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30.] When in our daily experience we learn His meekness and lowliness, we find rest. There is then no necessity to search for some mysterious science to soothe the sick. We already have the science which gives them real rest—the science of salvation, the science of restoration, the science of a living faith in a living Saviour. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 35
Ever keep looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. When the Holy Spirit works in this institution, then will the power of God be revealed, enabling you to work with ministering angels who are waiting to co-operate with you. When all the workers are sanctified by the Spirit of God, the spiritual atmosphere circulating through this institution will comfort the sick, encourage the depressed, and give hope to the despondent. 16LtMs, Ms 105, 1901, par. 36